I don't think he's quite as strong as rookie Manu was, but he still seems to be able to finish inside just fine despite that because he's probably a better ball handler. I want to see a full season play out to see if his shooting stroke comes around but watching highlights of rookie Manu I don't think I saw anything Shved isn't also capable of or better at, they look like similar players it's a good comparison.

Love watching Shved play. Him + Rubio in the backcourt will be fun to watch in the upcoming years. I'm a believer that we've found a pretty good one. Either as a starter or a 6th man ala Manu.

But, Rubio/Shved ballhandling/passing/length would be fun to watch and help us immensely on the defensive front.

EDIT-Watched so Manu rookie highlights. Looks like he was better without the ball than Shved. Also, it looks like he had a slightly better shot/was a slightly better finisher around the rim. Although, Alexey might be a better passer/ballhandler. It's really too early to tell on the shot. He's been streaky.

Am I the only one who is skeptical about Rubio-Shved backcourt ? Both are unselfish players and can coexist on the floor but Shved may not be as effective on the court with Rubio as he maybe with a player like Ridnour. Alexey is at his best when he has the ball in his hands a lot and looks passive when is forced to play off the ball.

I think Shved looked bad when he played with Barea who tends to dominate the ball. And I'm not surprised that he had his best career game when he was given a lot minutes next to Ridnour who just brings the ball up the court then passes it to Shved and lets him create.

Rubio is not nearly ball dominant as Barea. But I think that him and Shved should be separated as much as possible. Shved coming off the bench to play with Ridnour, Barea probably traded and preferably for a good shooting SG who can start next to Rubio, may be someone like Courtney Lee or Redick or Danny Green, basically someone on a cheapish contract.

So the backcourt looks like this

Rubio(34)/Ridnour(14)shooter(20)/Shved(28)

Play Shved like Ginobili and hopefully it will keep his next contract down.

Turnover_21 wrote:Am I the only one who is skeptical about Rubio-Shved backcourt ? Both are unselfish players and can coexist on the floor but Shved may not be as effective on the court with Rubio as he maybe with a player like Ridnour. Alexey is at his best when he has the ball in his hands a lot and looks passive when is forced to play off the ball.

I think Shved looked bad when he played with Barea who tends to dominate the ball. And I'm not surprised that he had his best career game when he was given a lot minutes next to Ridnour who just brings the ball up the court then passes it to Shved and lets him create.

Rubio is not nearly ball dominant as Barea. But I think that him and Shved should be separated as much as possible. Shved coming off the bench to play with Ridnour, Barea probably traded and preferably for a good shooting SG who can start next to Rubio, may be someone like Courtney Lee or Redick or Danny Green, basically someone on a cheapish contract.

So the backcourt looks like this

Rubio(34)/Ridnour(14)shooter(20)/Shved(28)

Play Shved like Ginobili and hopefully it will keep his next contract down.

I would agree with that. Shved ideally could play the 6th man role for us, but he can learn to play with Rubio/Love eventually...He's just doing what he's comfortable with right now. He still hasn't gotten his jump to fall like he would want, Rubio should be able to help there. He gives us someone who we can ISO at the end of the clock hopefully as well.

Turnover_21 wrote:Am I the only one who is skeptical about Rubio-Shved backcourt ? Both are unselfish players and can coexist on the floor but Shved may not be as effective on the court with Rubio as he maybe with a player like Ridnour. Alexey is at his best when he has the ball in his hands a lot and looks passive when is forced to play off the ball.

I think Shved looked bad when he played with Barea who tends to dominate the ball. And I'm not surprised that he had his best career game when he was given a lot minutes next to Ridnour who just brings the ball up the court then passes it to Shved and lets him create.

Rubio is not nearly ball dominant as Barea. But I think that him and Shved should be separated as much as possible. Shved coming off the bench to play with Ridnour, Barea probably traded and preferably for a good shooting SG who can start next to Rubio, may be someone like Courtney Lee or Redick or Danny Green, basically someone on a cheapish contract.

So the backcourt looks like this

Rubio(34)/Ridnour(14)shooter(20)/Shved(28)

Play Shved like Ginobili and hopefully it will keep his next contract down.

If Rick Adelman wasn't our coach, I might agree with you.

tsherkin wrote:The important thing to take away here is that Klomp is wrong.

Esohny wrote:Why are you asking Klomp? "He's" actually a bot that posts random blurbs from a database.

All rookies have learning curves, but this particular situation is not the norm. Shved is getting opportunities to spark the Wolves off the bench right now more out of necessity than anything else. With the team battling early-season injuries, including Monday’s news that Brandon Roy underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Shved’s minutes have increased. He’s spending an average of nearly 29 minutes on the floor over his past four games as opposed to around 18 minutes in his first five.

With those increased minutes have come more opportunities to both succeed and fall short on both ends of the court. He’s done both, but he continues to be a factor in keeping this back court together, and regardless of outcome he’s been on the floor during crunch time moments throughout his first two weeks.

“He really adds a lot of value to our team,” forward Derrick Williams said. “Without him, we wouldn’t be in a lot of games. We’ve been in the last few because of his play and him knocking down shots.”

These early-season lessons could be valuable for Shved and for the Wolves later on when the team regains its health and tries to make a push at a postseason run. In the first game of the season he was on the court for 4:26 of the fourth quarter. Over the last eight games, he’s played all but 2:28 of the team’s fourth quarter minutes.

Coach Rick Adelman has said he normally doesn’t like seeing young players leave their feet and make plays in the air, but Shved seems to have a feel for how to do just that. Not every play results in a highlight-reel—some end in lost possessions—but others get his teammates open looks or momentum-shifting baskets.

“It’s not something you want to teach, it’s not textbook as far as him leaving the floor all the time and trying to find passes,” assistant coach Terry Porter said. “But he seems to have a very good knack for it, that he can see over the floor at times and it’s been great.”

Shved said there is a comfort level with this team that makes those plays easier to execute.

“I feel comfortable because we have a great atmosphere here and everybody helps me—the coach, players. For me that’s important,” Shved said. “I like to play basketball, and I like to play aggressive every time.”

Whether he’s succeeded or failed on a given play, he’s been part of the Wolves’ plans down the stretch. And that’s with an injury-plagued roster. Adelman said when the rest of the team returns, particularly Rubio and the way he distributes the ball, guys like Shved will get more regular open looks.

“It will be fun, man,” Williams said. “When we get all of our guys back, we’re going to be a dangerous team. We’re already dangerous now; we’ve lost a few in a row but we’re hanging in there and that’s what coach likes to see.”

Shved is right in the middle of that equation. Learning and getting valuable minutes could go a long way in the rookie’s development throughout this season.

“It’s been good for him just to be able to get out there and just play,” Ridnour said. “Play through mistakes and just keep getting the ball and keep making plays. He’s done a really good job.”

Shved/Rubio, I don't care how much they play together, but one of the 2 should be on the floor at all times.

You put a legitimate scoring and shooting threat like Love out there and Shved is going to have even more space to work with. He's looked really good on his set shots, his shooting efficiency should improve quite a bit when he's not forced to take so many long jumpers off the dribble because he's not playing with any other scorers.

Mattya wrote:Thank god we got this guy. Without him we would not be were we are at. He is a perfect fit with our core too.

I thought the Wolves might be doomed to 5 years of mediocrity then a rebuild with the Love-Rubio core when it looked like Williams wasn't going to pan out since we wouldn't be getting anymore decent picks, but then Shved came in and unexpectedly showed us he could fill that void as the 3rd guy behind Rubio and Love and has looked like a top 5 pick himself, he is much better than I expected, and if Williams does end up panning out that's just all the better.

Mattya wrote:Thank god we got this guy. Without him we would not be were we are at. He is a perfect fit with our core too.

I thought the Wolves might be doomed to 5 years of mediocrity then a rebuild with the Love-Rubio core when it looked like Williams wasn't going to pan out since we wouldn't be getting anymore decent picks, but then Shved came in and unexpectedly showed us he could fill that void as the 3rd guy behind Rubio and Love and has looked like a top 5 pick himself, he is much better than I expected, and if Williams does end up panning out that's just all the better.

Don't forget Pek, too, but, yeah, I agree. If Williams doesn't pan out, there's always Bjelica over in Europe, too. He could make a nice, reasonably-priced apprentice to AK47 next year. Move Williams for a SG of some sort and they look pretty promising for the near future.

C.lupus wrote:Don't forget Pek, too, but, yeah, I agree. If Williams doesn't pan out, there's always Bjelica over in Europe, too. He could make a nice, reasonably-priced apprentice to AK47 next year. Move Williams for a SG of some sort and they look pretty promising for the near future.

Bjelica is not in the same league as AK. I don't even think it's possible to find another Kirilenko as he's vey unique player. I think we should keep him as long as possible and as long as we can afford him. Once Rubio and Shved get into their next contract(in 3 years time) we will have Love, Pek, Ricky, Shved who would combine around 50 mil. so it will be tough to afford AK and a decent bench. i just don't see them paying LT, not under the new scale.

I wasn't implying that Bjelica was in the same league as AK, just that he would be a reasonably-priced apprentice. I agree with the finances. I think they are going to be able to afford probably three max-near max guys and maybe one more close to that, then have a bunch of cheaper role players. I hope they can afford to keep AK until he retires but they may have to part ways after next year if he wants another $10M per contract.